It is my turn and my pleasure to offer you this week's free Holiday pattern - The Christmas-Tree Wash Cloth.

A lovely little gift for someone, and it's very quick to make. I've included a little chart at the end to help you with stitch placement.

A fun cotton washcloth just right for the Holiday season. This makes a great last-minute gift as it only takes an evening to make.

Difficulty: Easy

Materials: 4.5mm (7.5/0) and 4mm (7/0) crochet hooks; 2 skeins worsted weight cotton yarn #4, (1 in White and 1 in Green); oddment of yarn in brown of equal weight (enough for just 12 stitches); a tiny amount of Red cotton yarn to make a bow (optional) for the top of the tree. (you could also use narrow ribbon for this. Just make sure it’s as washable as the cotton yarn. Sample shown was made using Lily Sugar n’ Cream in White and Green, an oddment of Brown in Drops Paris, and a strand of Red also in Drops Paris.

Special Stitch: Dropped front post double crochet (dfpdc). This is worked exactly as a normal front post double crochet, with the exception that instead of working around the post of the next stitch as you normally would, you drop down to the row below and work the stitch around that post instead.

Pattern is written in US terms; a conversion chart is included at the end.

*Carrying colours* - It is very important with this pattern that colour changes are made correctly, so that the back of the washcloth ends up as neat as the front with no strands being carried over. To achieve this: (1) always change colour on the completion of the last stitch of the previous colour, (example: single crochet: in old colour: (a) insert hook into specified stitch, yarn over, draw yarn through… do not finish the stitch. (b) Change to the new colour and use the new colour to yarn over again and complete the stitch.) (2) When working colour changes on the reverse side of the fabric (single crochet rows), before you complete step(b) make sure your old yarn is pulled over towards you(so that it lays on the back of the fabric, not the front) then change to the new colour. (3) Either use 2 different balls of white (1 for each side of the tree) or work from the inside and the outside of 1 skein so that you are using a different strand for each side.

Back of the washcloth:

Instructions:

Row 1: With 4.5mm hook, chain 26.

Row 2: Change to 4mm hook; sc in 2nd chain from hook and to the end. (25) Turn.

Row 3: Ch1, sc in same stitch and in next 11 sts; change to Brown; (make sure to follow instructions under “Carrying Colours” above), sc in next stitch; change to white, sc to end. Turn.

Row 4: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st, sc in next st); 5 times; changing to brown on completion of last stitch. Using brown, dfpdc in next st; sc in next st; dfpdc in next st; change back to white; (sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) to end; sc in last stitch. Turn.

Row 5: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 10 sts; changing to Brown on final stitch; sc in next 3 sts, changing back to white on the last stitch; sc to end. Turn.

Row 6: Repeat Row 4

Row 7: Repeat Row 5.

You are now finished with Brown.

Row 8: Ch1, sc in same st; dfpdc in next, sc in next, dfpdc in next; changing to Green on last stitch; In Green: (sc in next st, dfpdc in next st) 8 times, sc in next st; changing to White on completion of last stitch; In white: (dfpdc in next, sc in next) twice. Turn.

Row 9: Ch1, sc in same st and next 3 sts; Change to Green. Sc in next 17 sts; change back to white. Sc in last 4 sts. Turn.

Row 10: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st, sc in next st) twice; change to Green. In Green, (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 7 times; dfpdc in next st; change to White. In White, (sc in next st, dfpdc in next st) twice; sc in last stitch. Turn.

Row 11: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 4 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 15 sts; change to White; Sc in next 5 sts. Turn.

Row 12: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) twice; dfpdc in next st; change to Green. (Sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) 6 times; sc in next st; change to White. (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 3 times. Turn.

Row 13: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 5 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 13 sts; change to White. Sc in last 6 sts. Turn.

Row 14: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 3 times; sc in next st; change to Green. (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 5 times; dfpdc in next st; change to white. (sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) 3 times; sc in last st. Turn.

Row 15: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 6 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 11 sts, change to white. Sc in last 7 sts. Turn.

Row 16: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 3 times; dfpdc in next st; change to Green. (sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) 4 times; sc in next st; change to White. (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 4 times. Turn.

Row 17: ch1, sc in same st and in next 7 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 9 sts; change to White. Sc to end. Turn.

Row 18: Ch1, sc in same st, (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 4 times; change to Green. (dfpdc in next st, sc in next st) 3 times; dfpdc in next st; Change to White. (sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) 4 times, sc in last st. Turn.

Row 19: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 8 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 7 sts; Change to White. Sc in next 9 sts. Turn.

Row 20: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 4 times; dfpdc in next st, change to Green. (Sc in next st, dfpdc in next st) twice; sc in next st; change to White. (Dfpdc in next st, sc in next st) 5 times. Turn.

Row 21: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 9 sts; change to Green. Sc in next 5 sts; change to White. Sc in last 10 sts. Turn.

Row 22: Ch1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 5 times; change to Green. dfpdc in next st; sc in next st; dfpdc in next st; change to White. (sc in next st; dfpdc in next st) 5 times; sc in last st. Turn.

Row 23: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 10 sts, change to Green. sc in next 3 sts; change to White. Sc in last 11 sts. Turn.

Row 24: Ch1, sc in same st, (dfpdc in next st, sc in next st) 5 times; dfpdc in next st; change to Green. sc in next st; change to White. (dfpdc in next st, sc in next stitch) 6 times. Turn.

Row 25: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 11 sts. change to Green. Sc in next st; change to White. (you are now finished with Green and can cut the thread); sc in next 12 sts. Turn.

Row 26: Ch 1, sc in same st; (dfpdc in next st; sc in next st) 12 times. Turn.

Row 27: Ch1, sc in same st and to end. Turn.

Row 28: Ch1, sc in same st and in next 23 sts; (sc, ch2, sc) in last st, taking you around the corner. Work 23 sc evenly down the left side, (sc, ch2, sc) in last st. Sc in next 23 sts, (sc, ch2, sc) in last st; work 24 sc evenly up the right side; ch2, sl st to beg sc. Do not turn.

Row 29: Ch1, sc around the four sides once again, working (sc, ch2, sc) into the corner ch2 spaces you made in the previous round. sl st to beg sc. Fasten off.

Weave in your ends neatly, then take your Red piece of yarn/ ribbon and tie a bow onto the top of the tree.